A-League needs to get out of the comfort zone

My travels in the UK will see me visit some of the less glamorous venues in world football to check on some of our Australian players who are building a career over here.

It is interesting to see that, as our game has developed at home, it has also created new challenges for players trying to climb to the highest levels the game has to offer. Years ago, playing in the lower leagues in the UK was seen as a first step in making the game your profession. Some of our greatest players played the early part of their careers at places like Milwall, Bradford and Bristol and used it as a launching pad to greater things.

The A-League lacks the need for the desperation of UK lower divisions. Photo: Getty Images

The lower leagues offer football at its most basic. Small stadiums, extreme weather, bumpy pitches, passionate local communities and often play that is not written in any curriculum. It does have one very appealing ingredient, however, and that is hunger. Clubs trying to survive, coaches struggling to avoid the sack and players striving to be discovered. You can see why the likes of Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Luke Wilkshire, among others, had determination in spades because they were able to rise from this desperate, in football terms, environment.

The A-League has now given our players an alternative route, but in many respects the challenges may be even greater. Our domestic league lacks many of the ingredients that forces players in the lower leagues to work harder so as to be discovered. There is no relegation, more than half the teams are deemed successful with the finals format, the stadiums are all comfortable, the pitches mostly pristine, and even the weather fosters a comfortable surrounding, barring heat waves of course.

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Another driving force in the lower leagues is players looking to better their financial situation, but this is also not necessarily a driver for our players. After half a season of good football, often there is an Asian club which is willing to double and triple the wages of an Australian player. I don't think there would be a player in the A-League that would swap his club for a team in League One in England. So the question is, how can we create hunger and desire in a competition that, in many ways, is designed to eliminate those drivers?

The answer lies in the individuals. Champion players will demand more of themselves and those around them, regardless of the environment. It is why the influence of returning Socceroos like Harry Kewell, Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton and others was crucial as they knew standards always needed to be challenged. We need more of these types coming back to the league. We need imports like Thomas Broich, Alessandro Del Piero and Besart Berisha who treat a loss like it's a personal attack. It also rests with coaches who won't be just satisfied with winning but will continually strive to create better and more professional environments for their players. Finally it is incumbent on those running the clubs and the league to make sure that every decision they make is factored around improving what is happening on the field.

Tim Cahill is among the Australian players who have done the hard yards overseas. Photo: Getty Images

I have a feeling someone like Tim Cahill would still have had a great career regardless of his journey and if he was in the A-League he would playing for his life every week because he wanted to get to the top. The challenge for every player in our league is to not fit in with the comfortable surroundings but to play as if it was the last place on earth they wanted to be in. I must admit I will enjoy watching football this week and hope to see at least one Australian player rising above the desperation, but ultimately my hope is that the players in our domestic league become instigators of a new pathway for Australian footballers.